Questlove and Padma Lakshmi Under Fire for ‘Racist’ Asian Jokes

Musician Questlove and model/Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi recently came under fire from a gossip blog for “being racist” against Japanese people in a series of posts to their social media accounts.

Questlove is currently on tour in Japan with his band, the Roots, and popular gossip blog Oh No They Didn’t! (ONTD) flagged down an Instagram photo of his that included “racist” comments (the stereotypical interchanging of “L” and “R” consonant sounds) from the drummer, his manager Dawn Englehart (herself of Asian descent), and his friend Lakshmi.

Questo captioned the photo of a Christmas-decorated clock train at a shopping center with a question for his manager: “Hey @dawnenglehart is it racist for me to write the Sour Tlain? #chipanesedownunder2013.” Englehart wrote in return: “Nah you’re in The Loots. You’re … Arrowed.”

Lakshmi then got in on the joke: “Hahahaha ha! You ruys clack me lup”

The ONTD author didn’t manage to get a screencap for proof, but after several angry comments, Englehart allegedly responded “It’s not lacist if it’s taloo,” prompting Indian-born Lakshmi to joke: “and I get a yellow pass anyway.”

Questlove also posted an Instagram video of a woman speaking Japanese, with his own spoken intro: “Ladies and gentlemen, they are talking in tongues.”

Both Instagram posts were eventually deleted.

The gossip blog also pointed to a Vine that remains online, in which Questlove shows a sleeping Japanese man aboard a bullet train, captioned: “McSnoleArot.”

Other than the deletions, Questlove and Lakshmi have yet to respond to the accusations of racism.